Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
The percentage of immigrants (including those unlawfully present) in the United states has been creeping upward for years. At 12.6 percent, it is now higher than at any point since the mid1920s.
We are not about to go back to the days when Congress openly worried about inferior races polluting America’s bloodstream. But once again we are wondering whether we have too many of the wrong sort newcomers. Their loudest critics argue that the new wave of immigrants cannot, and indeed do not want to, fit in as previous generations did.
We now know that these racist views were wrong. In time, Italians, Romanians and members of other so-called inferior races became exemplary Americans and contributed greatly, in ways too numerous to detail, to the building of this magnificent nation. There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success.
Although children of Mexican immigrants do better, in terms of educational and professional attainment, than their parents UCLA sociologist Edward Telles has found that the gains don’t continue. Indeed, the fouth generation is marginally worse off than the third James Jackson, of the University of Michigan, has found a similar trend among black Caribbean immigrants. Tells fears that Mexican-Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacks-that large parts of the community may become mired（陷入）in a seemingly permanent state of poverty and underachievement. Like African-Americans, Mexican-Americans are increasingly relegated to (降入)segregated, substandard schools, and their dropout rate is the highest for any ethnic group in the country.
We have learned much about the foolish idea of excluding people on the presumption of the ethnic/racial inferiority. But what we have not yet learned is how to make the process of Americanization work for all. I am not talking about requiring people to learn English or to adopt American ways; those things happen pretty much on their own, but as arguments about immigration hear up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader question about assimilation, about how to ensure that people, once outsiders, don’t forever remain marginalized within these shores.
That is a much larger question than what should happen with undocumented workers, or how best to secure the border, and it is one that affects not only newcomers but groups that have been here for generations. It will have more impact on our future than where we decide to set the admissions bar for the latest ware of would-be Americans. And it would be nice if we finally got the answer right.
57. How were immigrants viewed by U.S. Congress in early days?
A) They were of inferior races.
B) They were a Source of political corruption.
C) They were a threat to the nation’s security.
D) They were part of the nation’s bloodstream.
58. What does the author think of the new immigrants?
A) They will be a dynamic work force in the U.S.
B) They can do just as well as their predecessors.
C) They will be very disappointed on the new land.
D) They may find it hard to fit into the mainstream.
59. What does Edward Telles’ research say about Mexican-Americans?
A) They may slowly improve from generation to generation.
B) They will do better in terms of educational attainment.
C) They will melt into the African-American community.
D) They may forever remain poor and underachieving.
60. What should be done to help the new immigrants?
A) Rid them of their inferiority complex.
B) Urge them to adopt American customs.
C) Prevent them from being marginalized.
D) Teach them standard American English.
61. According to the author, the burning issue concerning immigration is_______.
A) How to deal with people entering the U.S. without documents
B) How to help immigrants to better fit into American society
C) How to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border
D) How to limit the number of immigrants to enter the U.S.
试题详解
57. A
细节题。本题有明确的关键词U.S. Congress，定位在文章第二段首句。此题的难点是在做题过程会被第
二句开头的转折词but吸引，而直接将答案定位在but之后。但是题干中还有一个重要的信息词in early
days，题干中只要出现时间状语，文中肯定会有干扰的其他时间出现。In early days是对第二段首句中的
go back to the days的改写。因此答案就在二段首句。
58. B
细节题。利用题干关键词the new immigrants定位在文章三段末句：There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success.意思是为什么这些新移民就不能拥有同样的成功。什么样的成功在前面的句子进行了阐述，为这个国家的建设做出了贡献。因此在作者看来新移民同样可以和他们的先人一样，为这个国家做出贡献。而前此段开头作者提到种族主义这是错的。
59. D
细节题。通过题干关键词Edward Telles和Mexican-Americans定位在文章第四段的第三句，Tells 担心
这些墨西哥裔美国人会陷入长期的贫穷和无所作为的状况，和D同义。
60. C
细节推论题。利用依次而下的顺序出题原则，可以定位在文章最后两段中。由于定位区域比较宽泛，可以利用出题原则帮助进一步定位，文章倒数第二段中连续出现两次转折but，因此段落重心应该是as arguments about immigration hear up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader question about assimilation, about how to ensure that people, once outsiders, don’t forever remain marginalized within these shores.而题干中考查如何帮助新移民，和此句中的we also ought to近义改写，因此“如何确保这些外来移民不会永远边缘化”，和C同义。
61. B
主旨题。由于文章首段是举例，因此文章的中心就转移到了文章末尾。而且通过前面的题目可以推断此篇文章主要探讨如何帮助新移民融入美国社会，因此他们为美国的建设做出了巨大的贡献。
